In fiction: The Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brien. A series of stories about a British naval captain and his best friend during the Napoleonic era. "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" was based on these books, and if you enjoyed the movie at all I highly recommend the books. A few things that set it apart from the movie is the constant peppering of both dry and absurd humor and that Dr. Maturin's character is far more developed. If you're into audiobooks the recordings by Patrick Tull are so good as to elevate the material, a good option for commuting or as an alternative to screen time.

The Brother Cadfael Mysteries by Ellis Peters. A rather comfy murder mystery series set during 12th century England about a Benedictine monk figuring out who done it. Amusingly because Peters wound up writing about of dozen of the books, its hard not to wonder if the little town its set in was not the murder capital of Europe ate the time, a common problem with mystery series.

In nonfiction: The Last Superstition by Edward Feser. A response to the 'New Atheist' movement (Hitchens, Dawkins, Dennet, et al.). I'm a friendly audience, but there is a great deal to be learned even is Feser is preaching to the converted, as it were. One odd thing if someone picks it up as a skeptic: skip the first chapter. Fesser attempts to imitate the snarky style of the New Atheists in the first chapter but doesn't really have the chops for it, and he cops to this in the chapter itself. Unless of course your an Atheist and still like to see someone crap on the likes of Dawkins or Hitchens anyways.